"I was phoning housing agencies every week to make sure he was in line and he would always be promised — 'OK, it's coming, it's coming.' For him to be here now, I'm just so thankful," says Chow.

Long-term support

Jeremy Martin used this tent for a year-and-a-half while homeless. Now he has it set up in his new apartment. The Alex Community Health Centre will soon drop off a bed for him. (CBC)

The agency that finally found Martin a home was Home Base, a program run through the Alex Community Health Centre. Alex staff will act as mediators between Martin and the landlord.

The two bedroom apartment is subsidized at $500 a month. Martin will pay the rent with his disability income.

"People who have a lot of barriers — for example, learning disabilities or FASD — those individuals really struggle with trying to find a place," says the Calgary John Howard Society's Bernadette O'Donnell.

O'Donnell says it's important that her organization and others to provide long-term support for individuals coming out of homelessness.

"This isn't something that one person can do, it takes a large group of people to team together to support that individual."

Corrections

An earlier version of this story said Dr. Kuen Chow offered dental services at the Mustard Seed. In fact he is affiliated with the dental program at CUPS.